Producer(s): J.C. Crowley; Appleseed Recordings APR 1033; Genre: COUNTRY
CRITICS' CHOICE
Originally reviewed for week ending 3/4/00
It's a measure of Steve Young's vocal prowess that he can turn Lloyd Price's raucous "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" into a lilting tale of almost unbearable yearning. Young, best known in country music circles for writing such memorable songs as "Lonesome, On'ry And Mean," "Montgomery In The Rain," "Rock, Salt & Nails," and "Seven Bridges Road," reminds with "Primal Young" that he is a singer of major stature. On this album of mostly self-penned originals, Young also covers Frankie Miller's lovely "Blackland Farmer," Tom T. Hall's "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died," Ed Pickford's "Worker's Song (Handful Of Earth)," and Merle Haggard's "Sometimes I Dream." Throughout, he manages to make them sound like Young classics. "Sometimes I Dream," in particular, emerges as almost a new song in his reinterpretation. Young impresses with his own (new) songs, as well, especially with the one-two punch of "Heartbreak Girl" and "No Longer Will My Heart Be Truly Breaking."
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